the Lovin' Spoonful | American music group | Britannica.com American music group AC/DC The Lovin’ Spoonful, American folk rock band with a string of hits in the mid 1960s. The original members were John Sebastian (b. March 17, 1944, New York, New York, U.S.), Zal Yanovsky (b. December 19, 1944, Toronto, Ontario, Canada—d. December 13, 2002, Kingston, Ontario), Steve Boone (b. September 23, 1943, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, U.S.), and Joe Butler (b. September 16, 1941, Glen Cove, New York, U.S.). Later members included Jerry Yester (b. January 9, 1943, Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.). Formed in 1965 in New York City’s Greenwich Village , the Lovin’ Spoonful crafted a “good-time” sound and cartoonish image.

Their version of folk rock—combining skilled musicianship, zaniness, and blues and jug-band influences (related to the skiffle music that played an important role in the development of British rock and roll )—produced seven Top Ten singles. The first, “ Do You Believe in Magic? ” (1965), celebrated music’s liberating power, as did “ Nashville Cats ” (1966). Other hits included gentle ruminations on romance—“ You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice ” (1965), “ Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind? ” (1966)—and the uncharacteristically boisterous “ Summer in the City ” (1966). Chief songwriter Sebastian (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, and Autoharp) and Yanovsky (lead guitar) came from a folk background; Boone (bass) and Butler (drums) had played rock and roll. Before disbanding in 1969, they recorded five albums plus two movie soundtracks.

Yanovsky left the band in 1967 after controversy resulted from an arrest for possession of marijuana; Sebastian followed in 1968, distinguishing himself as a soloist with his engaging performance at Woodstock and the chart-topping single “ Welcome Back ” (1976), the theme song of the television series Welcome Back, Kotter. The Lovin’ Spoonful, minus Yanovsky and Sebastian, reunited in the 1990s to play live and in 1999 released Live at the Hotel Seville. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Greenwich Village (Greenwich Village) Beginning in the early 20th century and especially since the Beat movement of the early 1950s, Greenwich Village had been a mecca for creative radicals—artists, poets, jazz musicians, and guitar-playing folk and blues singers—from all over the United States. In coffeehouses such as the... skiffle style of music played on rudimentary instruments, first popularized in the United States in the 1920s but revived by British musicians in the mid-1950s.

The term was originally applied to music played by jug bands (in addition to jugs, these bands featured guitars, banjos, harmonicas, and kazoos),... Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later. Edit Mode Submit Tips For Editing We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind. Encyclopædia Britannica articles are written in a neutral objective tone for a general audience. You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered. Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources. At the bottom of the article, feel free to list any sources that support your changes, so that we can fully understand their context. (Internet URLs are the best.) Your contribution may be further edited by our staff, and its publication is subject to our final approval. Unfortunately, our editorial approach may not be able to accommodate all contributions. Submit Thank You for Your Contribution!

Our editors will review what you've submitted, and if it meets our criteria, we'll add it to the article. Please note that our editors may make some formatting changes or correct spelling or grammatical errors, and may also contact you if any clarifications are needed. Uh Oh There was a problem with your submission. Please try again later. Close Article Title: the Lovin' Spoonful Website Name: Encyclopædia Britannica Date Published: March 06, 2003 URL: Access Date: January 19, 2017 Share Lovin' Spoonful Pictures | Getty Images Lovin' Spoonful January 01, 1965 License Portrait of 1960s American rock band 'The Lovin' Spoonful' as they pose on a...Portrait of 1960s American rock band 'The Lovin' Spoonful' as they pose on a street, mid to late 1960s. Clockwise from bottom: drummer Joe Butler, bassist Steve Boone, co-founder and lead guitarist Zal Yanovsky (1945 - 2002), and co-founder and singer John Sebastian .

Yanovsky crosses his arms and makes an unusual facial expression while Sebastian smokes a cigarette. LessMore John Sebastian | Download Music, Tour Dates & Video | eMusic Biography All Music Guide All Music Guide: John Sebastian has had a varied career as a singer, songwriter, and musician. As the leader of the folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful, he was responsible for a string of Top Ten hits in 1965-1967 that included the chart-toppers "Daydream" and "Summer in the City," and he returned to number one in 1976 as a solo artist with "Welcome Back." He wrote or co-wrote those hits as well as many others, along with songs used on Broadway and in the movies. And as an instrumentalist, primarily playing harmonica, he has accompanied a wide range of artists including Judy Collins, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Doors, Bob Dylan, the Everly Brothers, Art Garfunkel, Gordon Lightfoot, Laura Nyro, Graham Parker, Dolly Parton, Peter, Paul & Mary, John Prine, and Bonnie Raitt. Sebastian's father was a classical harmonica player, his mother a writer of radio shows.

He grew up in Greenwich Village, where he applied the knowledge of the harmonica he gleaned from his father to the music of the folk revival that was taking place in his neighborhood in the late '50s and early '60s. By the age of 16, he was stepping onto the stages of coffeehouses and folk clubs, and by the age of 18 he was appearing as a sideman on recordings. In 1964, he joined the Even Dozen Jug Band, which made a self-titled album for Elektra Records before splitting up. He was also briefly in the Mugwumps, along with future Lovin' Spoonful guitarist Zal Yanovsky and future members of the Mamas and the Papas Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty. In the winter of 1964-1965, he and Yanovsky began assembling the quartet that would become the Lovin' Spoonful, eventually adding bass player Steve Boone and drummer Joe Butler. In the meantime, he continued his session work, including playing bass on Bob Dylan's first electric album, Bringing It All Back Home.

The Lovin' Spoonful signed to Kama Sutra Records (an offshoot of MGM Records) and in the summer of 1965 released their first single, "Do You Believe in Magic," on which he sang lead vocals (as he did on all the group's singles while he was a member, in addition to writing or co-writing all their hits). It peaked in the Top Ten, and so did its follow-up, "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice," while a Do You Believe in Magic album, released in the fall, spent eight months in the charts. The third Lovin' Spoonful single, "Daydream," was a number one hit, accompanied by a Daydream LP that reached the Top Ten. The group's fourth single, "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?," had already appeared on Do You Believe in Magic, but that didn't keep it from reaching the Top Five, and the fifth single, the timely "Summer in the City," became a gold-selling number one hit upon its release in the summer of 1966. The next Lovin' Spoonful release was a soundtrack album for the Woody Allen film What's Up, Tiger Lily?, released in September.

Then came their sixth consecutive Top Ten hit, "Rain on the Roof," followed by their seventh, "Nashville Cats," which reached its peak in January 1967, simultaneous with a Top 20 showing for the band's third album, Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful, which spent six months in the charts. In the spring, the Lovin' Spoonful scored a second motion picture, Francis Ford Coppola's You're a Big Boy Now, from which came their next single, the Top 20 hit "Darling, Be Home Soon." "Six O'Clock" gave them another Top 20 hit by June. That summer, the band ran into difficulties. Yanovsky and Boone were arrested on drug charges, resulting in Yanovsky's departure from the group; his replacement was Jerry Yester. They also parted ways with their producer, Erik Jacobsen. "She's Still a Mystery" became their eleventh consecutive Top 20 hit in November, but Sebastian was becoming dissatisfied, and after completing a fourth LP, Everything Playing (which produced a minor chart entry in "Money"), released at the end of the year, he quit the band.

During 1968, he began working on solo material, considering, but ultimately rejecting, an offer to join a trio of his friends who went on to become Crosby, Stills & Nash. He also wrote some songs used in a Broadway play, Jimmy Shine, starring Dustin Hoffman; among them was "She's a Lady," a minor chart entry for him at the end of 1968. That single was released on Kama Sutra, but Sebastian had determined to leave the label and he signed to Warner Bros. Records' Reprise subsidiary. Kama Sutra, however, felt he still owed them an album, and a legal battle ensued which delayed the release of his debut solo album for a year. Although Reprise won the right to release John B. Sebastian, and did so in January 1970, Kama Sutra's parent company, MGM, using second-generation tapes of the record in its possession, also put out its own version of the LP, which was then withdrawn. In the meantime, Sebastian had made an inadvertent but memorable appearance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969.

Not scheduled to appear, but nevertheless present backstage (and somewhat the worse for wear due to recreational drug use), he was pressed into service during a set change and gave a brief, well-received performance. Hobbled by the MGM counterfeit, John B. Sebastian nevertheless managed to make the Top 20 in the spring of 1970 and Sebastian's solo career really took off when he was featured on the chart-topping Woodstock soundtrack album in May and in the documentary film that opened in August. Unfortunately, MGM wasn't through harassing him. The label obtained a tape of a concert he performed in July 1970 and released it under the title John Sebastian Live. Another legal battle ensued, and this album too was withdrawn. But Sebastian was determined to put out a competing album as well, and the result was Cheapo-Cheapo Productions Presents Real Live John Sebastian, released in March 1971.

Both albums took advantage of the singer's iconic status as a rock festival favorite, brandishing his acoustic guitar, wearing a tie-dyed denim suit, and pleasing giant crowds at such Woodstock-like events as the Atlanta Pop Festival, the Isle of Wight Festival, and the Festival of Life in 1970-1971. Sebastian released his second studio album, The Four of Us, in August 1971, featuring the ambitious title track, which took up all of side two; it sold disappointingly. Tarzana Kid, which followed in September 1974, missed the charts entirely, and Sebastian's recording career was virtually moribund when he was asked to write a theme song for a new television series, Welcome Back, Kotter, which premiered in September 1975. Sebastian was also heard singing his song, "Welcome Back," over the credits each week. Welcome Back, Kotter became a success, and Reprise released a single version of the song, which topped the charts in May 1976 and went gold. A Welcome Back LP also returned Sebastian to the album charts.

But that disc completed his recording contract, and "Welcome Back" proved to be a one-off success rather than a real commercial comeback. For the next 17 years, Sebastian performed concerts, made guest appearances on other artists' records, and did occasional soundtrack work. In 1993, the independent Shanachie Records label finally put out his fifth studio album, Tar Beach. He then teamed up with a group of old friends and returned to playing the jug band music he had started with back in Greenwich Village more than 30 years before, forming a group he called John Sebastian and the J-Band and issuing I Want My Roots (1996) and Chasin' Gus' Ghost (1999). As part of the Lovin' Spoonful, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. John Sebastian | About ABOUT JOHN SEBASTIAN Over four decades the contributions of John Sebastian have become a permanent part of our American musical fabric. His group The Lovin' Spoonful played a major role in the mid-'60s rock revolution, but what leader, singer and songwriter Sebastian had in mind was actually a counter-revolution.

"We were grateful to the Beatles for reminding us our rock & roll roots," John explains, "but we wanted to cut out the English middlemen, so to speak, and get down to making this new music as an 'American' band." This the Lovin' Spoonful did like nobody before or since, putting their first seven singles into the Top 10. This was unprecedented, and utterly unthinkable at the height of Beatlemania. At first they'd taken older material from blues, country, folk and jug band sources - what we now term "roots music" - and made it sound modern. Then, in a series of original songs composed and sung by John Sebastian, they did the reverse, creating thoroughly modern music that sounded like it contained the entire history of American music. Which it did.

You know the songs by heart: "Do You Believe In Magic?" "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice." "Daydream." "Younger Girl." "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?" "Summer In The City." "Rain On The Roof." "Nashville Cats." "Six O'Clock." "Darling Be Home Soon." "Younger Generation." These songs did more than simply answer the British invasion, they carried the musical tradition into the future. This music had an immediate and indelible impression on the public consciousness, but John Sebastian was already a name well-known to the cognoscenti. He was born March 17, 1944 in New York City. His father was a noted classical harmonica player and his mother a writer of radio programs. Regular visitors to the family's Greenwich Village home included Burl Ives and Woody Guthrie, so it was no surprise when young John became a fan of, and then a participant in, the folk music revival that swept the nation in the late '50s.

Making his bow as a member of the Even Dozen Jug Band, his skills on guitar, harmonica and autoharp soon made him a sought-after accompanist on the Village folk scene, working with Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, Mississippi John Hurt, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan and many others. So the Lovin' Spoonful was not his first act, and it certainly wasn't its last. After leaving the group he founded, he bore witness to another turn of the musical zeitgeist with his performances at massive festivals like Woodstock and its English equivalent the Isle of Wight. He had been involved in music for films (most notably Francis Ford Coppola's You're A Big Boy Now and Woody Allen's What's Up Tiger Lily) and Broadway, but when producers of a TV show called Welcome Back Kotter commissioned a theme song in 1976, Sebastian's "Welcome Back" became a chart-topping solo record. Throughout the '70s and '80s he continued to record and tour, pleasing old fans and winning new ones.

There's no telling how many aspiring musicians have been nurtured by his instruction books for harmonica and guitar, but he aimed to inspire an even younger audience with the publication in 1993 of the delightful children's book JB's Harmonica. The '90s also saw John return to the group format with the J-Band, a contemporary celebration of his jug band heritage. The acclaim the group received was gratifying, but bittersweet. The group's albums contain some of the last recorded performances of blues pioneer Yank Rachell and washtub/jug virtuoso Fritz Richmond. Thankfully John's induction into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 hasn't slowed him down. Whether the stage is at Carnegie Hall or a folk festival in some far-flung locale, John is still out there spreading his gospel of American roots music. He is the subject of the current PBS special Do You Believe In Magic: The Music of John Sebastian, and a new album of duets with David Grisman is due later in 2007. He has also lent his music in support of social, environmental and animal rights causes.

Recently he joined a delegation of songwriters (including Lamont Dozier, Allen and Marilyn Bergman, and Mike Stoller) in Washington, DC to campaign on behalf of the National Music Publisher's Association. Perhaps because it has been the product of heart and soul and history, the oldest song in the Sebastian catalog is as fresh and vital as the song he's about to write tomorrow. That's why you still hear his music everywhere - in movies, on television, in cover versions and samples - and why it's always welcome. John is also a welcome media presence; his commentary, insights and anecdotes and stories are regularly featured in print, radio, TV and film documentary projects. John Sebastian is not only a master musician, writer and performer, he remains one of the best ambassadors American music has ever had.

John Sebastian of The Lovin' Spoonful live at the Everett Theatre - AXS John Sebastian of The Lovin' Spoonful live at the Everett Theatre By: Sue Gabel AXS Contributor Jan 11, 2015 1196756 475586 16715476 6 y2015m01d11 36516 John Sebastian , founder of the 1960s American rock band The Lovin' Spoonful, is performing live for one night only at the Historic Everett Theatre in February 2015. The Lovin' Spoonful was part of a rock revolution that blasted onto the music scene in the 1960s and produced song hits such as "Summer in the City," "Do You Believe in Magic," "Daydream," "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" and "Rain on the Roof." Sebastian was the primary songwriter of The Lovin' Spoonful while he was with the group and also a vocalist, guitar player and harmonica player.

Although Sebastian only remained with The Lovin' Spoonful until 1968, he has gone on to have a longtime solo career that continues into the present day. Upon embarking on his solo career, John Sebastian played an unscheduled performance at the iconic Woodstock festival in 1969. He went on stage after Country Joe McDonald, and played songs such as playing songs such as "Younger Generation," "I Had A Dream," "Darling Be Home Soon" and "Rainbows All Over Your Blues." The following year in 1970, he released his debut solo album John B. Sebastian, which featured friends and guest musicians Crosby, Stills and Nash, drummer Dallas Taylor and steel guitarist Buddy Emmons. John Sebastian often returned the favor and played on his friends’ albums and during their performances as well, most notably playing harmonica for The Doors "Roadhouse Blues," Crosby Stills Nash & Young's "Déjà Vu" and during the 2004 Woodstock performance with Crosby Stills and Nash.

Although John Sebastian has not released a solo album since the 1970s, he did release a recent album, Satisfied, with fellow musician David Grisman in 2007. The duo had known one another for over forty years, first working together and performing in 1964 with The Even Dozen Jug Band. On this album, John Sebastian was a vocalist, harmonica player and guitar player, while Grisman also sang, played mandolin and mandola. The two artists co-wrote all 14 songs on the album. John Sebastian and the three remaining members of The Lovin' Spoonful reunited in 2000 to perform at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. They sang one of their most popular and well-remembered songs for this performance - "Do You Believe in Magic." In 2008, John Sebastian was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. John Sebastian | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by William Ruhlmann John Sebastian has had a varied career as a singer, songwriter, and musician.

As the leader of the folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful , he was responsible for a string of Top Ten hits in 1965-1967 that included the chart-toppers "Daydream" and "Summer in the City," and he returned to number one in 1976 as a solo artist with "Welcome Back." He wrote or co-wrote those hits as well as many others, along with songs used on Broadway and in the movies. And as an instrumentalist, primarily playing harmonica, he has accompanied a wide range of artists including Judy Collins , Crosby, Stills & Nash , the Doors , Bob Dylan , the Everly Brothers , Art Garfunkel , Gordon Lightfoot , Laura Nyro , Graham Parker , Dolly Parton , Peter, Paul & Mary , John Prine , and Bonnie Raitt . Sebastian 's father was a classical harmonica player, his mother a writer of radio shows. He grew up in Greenwich Village, where he applied the knowledge of the harmonica he gleaned from his father to the music of the folk revival that was taking place in his neighborhood in the late '50s and early '60s.

By the age of 16, he was stepping onto the stages of coffeehouses and folk clubs, and by the age of 18 he was appearing as a sideman on recordings. In 1964, he joined the Even Dozen Jug Band , which made a self-titled album for Elektra Records before splitting up. He was also briefly in the Mugwumps , along with future Lovin' Spoonful guitarist Zal Yanovsky and future members of the Mamas and the Papas Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty . In the winter of 1964-1965, he and Yanovsky began assembling the quartet that would become the Lovin' Spoonful , eventually adding bass player Steve Boone and drummer Joe Butler . In the meantime, he continued his session work, including playing bass on Bob Dylan 's first electric album, Bringing It All Back Home .

The Lovin' Spoonful signed to Kama Sutra Records (an offshoot of MGM Records) and in the summer of 1965 released their first single, "Do You Believe in Magic," on which he sang lead vocals (as he did on all the group's singles while he was a member, in addition to writing or co-writing all their hits). It peaked in the Top Ten, and so did its follow-up, "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice," while a Do You Believe in Magic album, released in the fall, spent eight months in the charts. The third Lovin' Spoonful single, "Daydream," was a number one hit, accompanied by a Daydream LP that reached the Top Ten. The group's fourth single, "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?," had already appeared on Do You Believe in Magic , but that didn't keep it from reaching the Top Five, and the fifth single, the timely "Summer in the City," became a gold-selling number one hit upon its release in the summer of 1966. The next Lovin' Spoonful release was a soundtrack album for the Woody Allen film What's Up, Tiger Lily?, released in September.

Then came their sixth consecutive Top Ten hit, "Rain on the Roof," followed by their seventh, "Nashville Cats," which reached its peak in January 1967, simultaneous with a Top 20 showing for the band's third album, Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful , which spent six months in the charts. In the spring, the Lovin' Spoonful scored a second motion picture, Francis Ford Coppola 's You're a Big Boy Now, from which came their next single, the Top 20 hit "Darling, Be Home Soon." "Six O'Clock" gave them another Top 20 hit by June. That summer, the band ran into difficulties. Yanovsky and Boone were arrested on drug charges, resulting in Yanovsky 's departure from the group; his replacement was Jerry Yester . They also parted ways with their producer, Erik Jacobsen . "She's Still a Mystery" became their eleventh consecutive Top 20 hit in November, but Sebastian was becoming dissatisfied, and after completing a fourth LP, Everything Playing (which produced a minor chart entry in "Money"), released at the end of the year, he quit the band.

During 1968, he began working on solo material, considering, but ultimately rejecting, an offer to join a trio of his friends who went on to become Crosby, Stills & Nash . He also wrote some songs used in a Broadway play, Jimmy Shine, starring Dustin Hoffman ; among them was "She's a Lady," a minor chart entry for him at the end of 1968. That single was released on Kama Sutra, but Sebastian had determined to leave the label and he signed to Warner Bros. Records' Reprise subsidiary. Kama Sutra, however, felt he still owed them an album, and a legal battle ensued which delayed the release of his debut solo album for a year. Although Reprise won the right to release John B. Sebastian , and did so in January 1970, Kama Sutra's parent company, MGM, using second-generation tapes of the record in its possession, also put out its own version of the LP, which was then withdrawn. In the meantime, Sebastian had made an inadvertent but memorable appearance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969.

Not scheduled to appear, but nevertheless present backstage (and somewhat the worse for wear due to recreational drug use), he was pressed into service during a set change and gave a brief, well-received performance. Hobbled by the MGM counterfeit, John B. Sebastian nevertheless managed to make the Top 20 in the spring of 1970 and Sebastian 's solo career really took off when he was featured on the chart-topping Woodstock soundtrack album in May and in the documentary film that opened in August. Unfortunately, MGM wasn't through harassing him. The label obtained a tape of a concert he performed in July 1970 and released it under the title John Sebastian Live . Another legal battle ensued, and this album too was withdrawn. But Sebastian was determined to put out a competing album as well, and the result was Cheapo-Cheapo Productions Presents Real Live John Sebastian , released in March 1971.

Both albums took advantage of the singer's iconic status as a rock festival favorite, brandishing his acoustic guitar, wearing a tie-dyed denim suit, and pleasing giant crowds at such Woodstock-like events as the Atlanta Pop Festival, the Isle of Wight Festival, and the Festival of Life in 1970-1971. Sebastian released his second studio album, The Four of Us , in August 1971, featuring the ambitious title track, which took up all of side two; it sold disappointingly. Tarzana Kid , which followed in September 1974, missed the charts entirely, and Sebastian 's recording career was virtually moribund when he was asked to write a theme song for a new television series, Welcome Back, Kotter, which premiered in September 1975. Sebastian was also heard singing his song, "Welcome Back," over the credits each week. Welcome Back, Kotter became a success, and Reprise released a single version of the song, which topped the charts in May 1976 and went gold. A Welcome Back LP also returned Sebastian to the album charts.

But that disc completed his recording contract, and "Welcome Back" proved to be a one-off success rather than a real commercial comeback. For the next 17 years, Sebastian performed concerts, made guest appearances on other artists' records, and did occasional soundtrack work. In 1993, the independent Shanachie Records label finally put out his fifth studio album, Tar Beach . He then teamed up with a group of old friends and returned to playing the jug band music he had started with back in Greenwich Village more than 30 years before, forming a group he called John Sebastian and the J-Band and issuing I Want My Roots (1996) and Chasin' Gus' Ghost (1999). As part of the Lovin' Spoonful , he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Lovin Spoonful · 2017 Tour Dates and Concert Tickets | Thrillcall Track Artist for New Show Alerts The Lovin' Spoonful is an American rock band of the 1960s, named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

When asked about his band, leader John Sebastian said it sounded like a combination of "Mississippi John Hurt and Chuck Berry", prompting his fri... The Lovin' Spoonful is an American rock band of the 1960s, named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. When asked about his band, leader John Sebastian said it sounded like a combination of "Mississippi John Hurt and Chuck Berry", prompting his friend, Fritz Richmond, to suggest the name "Lovin' Spoonful" from a line in Hurt's song, "Coffee Blues". Career Formation and early years (1964–1965) The band had its roots in the folk music scene based in the Greenwich Village section of lower Manhattan during the early 1960s. Sebastian, who grew up in contact with music and musicians, was the son of a much-recorded and highly technically accomplished classical harmonica player. He had reached maturity toward the end of the American folk music revival that spanned from the 1950s to the early 1960s.

Sebastian was joined in the Spoonful by guitarist Zal Yanovsky from a bohemian folk group called The Mugwumps (two other members, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, would later form half of the Mamas & the Papas), playing local coffee houses and small clubs. Drummer-vocalist Joe Butler and bassist Steve Boone rounded out the group. The group made its first recordings for Elektra Records in early 1965, and agreed in principle to sign a long-term deal with Elektra in exchange for a $10,000 advance. However, Kama Sutra Records had an option to sign the Lovin' Spoonful as recording artists as part of a previously signed production deal, and Kama Sutra exercised the option upon learning of Elektra's intent to sign the band. The four tracks recorded for Elektra were released on the 1966 various artists compilation LP What's Shakin' after the band's success on Kama Sutra.

Pop success (1965–1966) Working with producer Erik Jacobsen, the band released their first single, the Sebastian-penned "Do You Believe in Magic", on July 20, 1965. Additionally, aside from a few covers (mostly on their first album) they wrote all their own material, including "Younger Girl" (which missed the Hot 100), which was a hit for The Critters in mid-1966. "Do You Believe in Magic" reached No. 9 on the Hot 100, and the band followed it up with a series of hit singles and albums throughout 1965 and 1966, all produced by Jacobsen. The Lovin' Spoonful became known for such folk-flavored pop hits as "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice", which reached No. 10, and "Daydream", which went to No. 2. Other hits included "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" (another No. 2 hit) and their only song to reach No.

1 on the Hot 100, "Summer in the City" (13–27 August 1966). Later that year, the No. 10 hit "Rain on the Roof" and the No. 8 hit "Nashville Cats" completed the group's first seven consecutive Hot 100 hits to reach that chart's top 10. The only other 1960s act to achieve that feat is Gary Lewis & The Playboys. Arguably the most successful pop/rock group to have jug band and folk roots, nearly half the songs on their first album were modernized versions of blues standards. Their popularity revived interest in the form, and many subsequent jug bands cite them as an inspiration. The rest of their albums featured mostly original songs, but their jug band roots showed up again and again, particularly in "Daydream" and the lesser-known "Money" (which only reached No. 48, in 1968), featuring a typewriter as percussion. Lovin' Spoonful members termed their approach "good-time music".

In the liner notes of "Do You Believe in Magic", Zal Yanovsky said he "became a convert to Reddy Kilowatt because it's loud, and people dance to it, and it's loud". Soon-to-be members of the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead were part of the West Coast acoustic folk music scene when The Lovin' Spoonful came to town while on tour. They credited The Lovin' Spoonful concert as a fateful experience, after which they decided to leave the folk scene and "go electric." At the peak of its success the band was originally selected to perform on the television show that became The Monkees, and also gained an added bit of publicity when Butler replaced Jim Rado in the role of Claude for a sold-out four-month run with the Broadway production of the rock musical Hair. The Lovin' Spoonful's song "Pow!" was used as the opening theme of Woody Allen's first feature film, What's Up, Tiger Lily. John Sebastian composed the music for Francis Ford Coppola's second film, You're a Big Boy Now, and The Lovin' Spoonful played the music for the soundtrack, which included yet another hit, "Darling Be Home Soon".

Both films were released in 1966. Personnel changes (1967) In early 1967, the band broke with their producer Erik Jacobsen, turning to Joe Wissert to produce the single "Six O'Clock", which would hit No. 18 US. Yanovsky left the band after the soundtrack album You're a Big Boy Now was released in May 1967, primarily due to a drug bust in San Francisco, in which he was arrested for possession of marijuana and pressured by police to name his supplier. As a Canadian citizen and fearing he would be barred from re-entering the U.S., he complied. He would later open a restaurant in Canada, the immensely popular Chez Piggy in Kingston, Ontario. The restaurant is now owned and run by his daughter. Yanovsky's replacement was Jerry Yester, formerly of the Modern Folk Quartet. Around this time, perhaps coincidentally, the band's sound became more pop-oriented. This new line up of The Lovin' Spoonful would record two moderately successful Wissert-produced singles ("She Is Still a Mystery" and "Money"), as well as the 1967 album Everything Playing.

Sebastian then left the group by early 1968 to go solo. The final years (1968–1969) The group was now officially a trio, and drummer Butler (who had previously sung lead on a few album tracks) became the group's new lead vocalist. Up to this point Sebastian had written (or co-written) and sung every one of The Lovin' Spoonful's hits; the band now turned to outside writers for their singles, and used a variety of outside producers. The band's last two Hot 100 entries ("Never Going Back" and "Me About You") were sung by Butler, and written by professional songsmiths. In addition, "Never Going Back" only featured Yester and Butler's playing—the other musical parts were played by session musicians, a first for the group. With commercial success waning, The Lovin' Spoonful lasted only until early 1969. They split up following the release of their album Revelation: Revolution '69.

Reunions, revivals, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction (1980–present) The original group (Sebastian, Yanovsky, Butler and Boone) reunited briefly in 1979 for a show at the Concord Hotel in the Catskills for an appearance in the Paul Simon film One Trick Pony, which was released in 1980. In 1991, after a long awaited settlement with their record company, Butler and Boone decided to start up The Lovin' Spoonful again with Jerry Yester. They were joined by Jerry's brother, Jim Yester (vocals and guitar), formerly of The Association, and drummer John Marrella. Sebastian and Yanovsky declined to participate. After a two month rehearsal in the Berkshire Mountains, the group started touring, with Butler now the most common lead singer. Jim Yester left this new grouping by the end of 1992 and was replaced by Jerry's daughter, Lena Yester (vocals and keyboards), who joined in early 1993. Mike Arturi replaced Marrella on drums in 1996, and Phil Smith joined on guitar in 2000, replacing Lena Yester.

The original four members of the Lovin' Spoonful were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 6, 2000. All four original members appeared at the ceremony and performed "Do You Believe in Magic". Yanovsky died in 2002. Sebastian has stated that he no longer wishes to perform with the remaining members of the group because he wanted to move on when he left the group. The current group, still led by Butler and Boone, continues to perform. Name The band's name was inspired by some lines in a song of Mississippi John Hurt called the "Coffee Blues". John Sebastian and others in the jug-folk scene of the time such as Geoff Muldaur credit Fritz Richmond for suggesting the name. The song "Coffee Blues" is a tribute to Maxwell House Coffee, which he describes, "rapping" in the beginning of the song, as being two or three times any other brand, ergo, he only needs one spoonful to make him feel alright, what he describes as "my lovin' spoonful" in the song.

Question: John Sebastian was a member of which 1960s folk rock group?
Answer: Lovin' Spoonful